It was a long time coming.
Penn field hockey, which last defeated Lafayette in 2007, submitted a strong comeback effort on the shoulders of senior Emily Corcoran to topple the Leopards, 4-2, Wednesday evening.
Corcoran’s pair of strikes, along with goals from junior Elizabeth Hitti and freshman Alexa Hoover, helped the Red and Blue (3-3) climb back to .500.
“It was a great response coming off of a tough weekend,” Fink said. “They really came out and were able to play with a lot of grit and make adjustments over the course of the game.”
A Penn offense looking to get back on track after being shut out by Cornell found it difficult to create solid opportunities in the early going.
Following a series of early Lafayette (4-5) runs that failed to materialize, a Britany Blass blast that was deflected in by Katie Birle put the Leopards ahead 1-0 just over 15 minutes into the contest.
As the period progressed, the Quakers began to find holes in the Lafayette defense and attacked with more authority.
Penn’s pressure generated several unsuccessful corner chances before the unit finally converted with 12 minutes left in the first half. Although an Alex Iqbal attempt was initially denied by Katelyn Arnold, the keeper could not secure the ball, and Corcoran was waiting on the left side to take advantage. The goal was the captain’s sixth of the year, giving her a share of the team lead with Alexa Hoover.
The Leopards took advantage of their final first-half scoring opportunity, as sophomore Amanda Magadan was able to sneak a goal by Penn keeper Allison Weisenfels off a corner with 20 seconds left in the period to make the score 2-1.
Back-and-forth action ensued in the second half, and although Corcoran missed an opportunity to deflect an Iqbal shot into the net, Hitti was able to tie the contest up with just under 25 minutes left on a running drive from the right side.
It was the junior attack’s third time finding the net this year.
With the momentum back, the Red and Blue continued to attack and soon enough seized the lead on a point-blank goal from Corcoran, her second of the night.
“In the second half we were able to turn our good midfield play into legitimate scoring opportunities,” Fink said.
The Red and Blue refused to take their foot off the gas, and a late run by Hitti resulted in a Hoover goal, giving the Quakers a comfortable 4-2 lead that would hold.
“We played really good hockey tonight, and if we continue to play like this I think we’re going to be able to win a lot more games this season,” Fink said.
The Quakers return to Vagelos Field on Saturday hoping to build off Wednesday’s triumph and notch their first Ivy League victory against Harvard.
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